Gray Reveries
Gray Reveries was published on Nymphs on March 22, 2020. It is a flash fiction piece about a taxi ride in Seoul, South Korea. It was written in May 2015. The short story and a narrated video are available in a post and a page.
Other Short Stories
For now, this page is incomplete and does not have any more information about projects that are still in development than the below details. Changes will be made as projects are completed.
Literature Projects
In 2015, Kute wrote Queen of Firsts, a forty thousand word novella. It is a first person account of Dexter, a lovesick American English teacher. Tortured by a girl that rejects him but has a constant presence in his life, he meets Laurinda, a wealthy Chinese university student. Laurinda has her own problems as she’s run away from her broken family. Themes include love, relationships, separation, and modern communication.
In 2016 and 2017, Kute wrote two novellas and one short story anthology: The Auburn Girl, Youngri and the Keys, and The Sangsu Tales: The Red Cricket and Other Stories.
Kute first came up with the idea for The Auburn Girl in late 2010. The fifty thousand word novella is told in the third person. It tells of a relationship between two jazz musicians and explores themes like obsession, sexual promiscuity, lust, and creativity.
Youngri and the Keys was begun in mid- 2014. The third person novella focuses on the relationship between a composer and the director of a North Korean NGO. The artsy, eccentric, and creative Korean female musician Youngri meets the serious, careerist white American male Frederick. The two are not an obvious match, but that doesn’t stop them from spending time together and starting a romantic relationship. But does Youngri really like Frederick, and does he really want her? Themes include romance, romantic rivalry, interplay of cultures, and discord.
The writing he did on The Sangsu Tales: The Red Cricket and Other Stories in 2016 and 2017 continued earlier work from late 2013 onwards on characters and story ideas. The short stories are written with a chaotic tone and non-linear plots. They revolve around a group of foreign and Korean jazz musicians living and working in bohemian haunts and old residences in Seoul, South Korea.
In 2017 and 2018, he wrote The Texas Street Anthology, a series of short stories about Texas Street in Busan, South Korea. The small area across from Busan Station and nearby the ports stretches for the length of about four blocks. The anthology focuses on various residents and visitors to the area, including Americans, Russians, Koreans, and other nationalities.
Projects that are currently being developed include the anthologies Central, Sangsu 2, and the small set of short stories Competing Views at the Hostel. Central is about South Koreans living in Central Seoul. Sangsu 2 is a sequel to The Sangsu Tales: The Red Cricket and Other Stories. Competing Views at the Hostel is about guests and staff at a Japanese guesthouse.
Some short stories Kute has written are Gray Reveries and Mystery Man on Red Square.